The Dickinson press., 1887-09-24


two soldiers happen to meet; any one, in
short. have no acquaintance in Paris to
whom can apply"
"Thcn, monsieur" said Staub, II may vent
ure to make a proposal. Whenever have n
leisure moment am generally to be found at
shooting gallery where some Of the best
marks'nen are in the habit of practicing, and
am not altogether Il tyro myself. There
fore, as you are unprovided with seconds, If
You will coneSccihd to accept my services
and those Of NJ. Sakosky"-
Most willingly" interrupted Symphoren,
who desired nothing better. "You have an
ticipated my wish, and saved me al, infinity
of trouble"
Three hours LATER the two adversaries and
their seconds arrived plnctually ut the spot
fixed upon for the encounter. At tho sight of
his tailor and bootmnker Rogue stared in
amazenlent; and, advancing angrily toward
them, inquired what business they had there.
"ls this time or place." he cried, "for pes
tering me with your confounicd bills?"
"Oh, NJ. Roque," protested Staub, show
could you suspect us of such an unwnrrant-
able liberty! We are here not rs tra,lcsmen,
but in the honorable capacity of seconds to
NJ. Baliveau"
"What!' exclaimed Rogue, who could
hardly believe his ears; "he has chosen you!"
"He could not we'll do otherwise. You
gave him our names and addresses, and as he
knew no one else in Paris, he was only too
glad to avail himself of our services"
Roque's sense OF humor, although by no
means prominent feature in his character.
was so irresistibly ticklcd by the comicality
OF the situation that he laughed outright.
Protiting by this unwontetl geniality, his two
creditors eloqucntly implorcd him TO lie mcr-
ciful.
Consider, monsieur, said Sakosky, "ir you
deprive us of so excellent IL customer, what a
loss it will t'e to both of us. Apcrfect treas
ure, who pnys without bargaining, and before
the goods are delivered! These arc hard
times, NJ. Rogue"
"And We have so many bad debts on our
books, inSnuatc,l Staub.
Apparently not relishng the last allusion,
Rogue pushed them uncercmoniouslv aside.
and, striding up to where his adversary was
standing, eyed him curiously.
You are a sharper fellow than | took Won
for" ho said.
"In what wayE asked Balveau.
lyon know how to get out of n scrape with
out compromising yourself Tell me, what
y
"Ambtion," frankly replied the provincial.
II wished for celebrity, aud saw no better
method of attaining it,
"Ah! you arc afflicted with that manin,
SO was once, but have outlivcd that folly.
Wcll, your wish shall be gratiflcd and moro
easily than mine waS Get into my cabrolct:
when we are scen together, people will say of
you, There is tho first man who ever went
out with Rogue. and cnme back safe and
sound! Jump in, lest change my mind:
and that would ho the worse for you!,
Symphorien needed no second hint. but
took his seat beside his companion, by whom
he was driven back to Paris, and pnrn,le.i for
full hour along tho boulevard At length
they stopped opposite Tortoni's. THAT will
do" said Rogue; Eve part company hero.
Enjoy your celebrity while you can, and il it
shouldn't last, don't blame me- Adeuln
| Stepping out Of the cnbriolct, and salutinp
his late antagonist with a jaunty air, Bali.
veau, agreenbly conscious that he was thc.ob-
ject of universal attention, proceeded leisurely
to the Cafe dc Paris then the restaurant in
vogue), where he dincl, and felt that from the
dame de compton to tho attending waiter.
every eye was upon him. During tho rest of
the evening his thirst for notoriety was salts.
fed beyond his anticipation; as ho passed
strangers whispered to each other, and glanced
at him with respectful admiration "At
last, he said to himself, when lie had stroletl
for the twentieth time from the Rue Grange.
Batchere to the Chausee dAntin, and vice
versa-"at last, am somebotly!"
Alas for the instability of human felicity
Tho hero of the hour had not counted on the
proverbial fickleness of the Parisans. Next
day heavy fall took place Mt the Bo,rsc, and
on his appearance on the boulevard in the
afternoon "a change had come DER tho spirit
OF his dream" To his nmnze,mcnt and dis.
comfiture, constant succession OF preoccu-
pied spcculators with scared or jubiant
faces, as tho case might he, hurried along
without pn,sing even to glance nt him; he
was nlone in the crowd, his presence un-
needed, my, his very existence forgotten. AT
Tortonis no one honored him with look of
recognition; the cours dc la rcnte was the nb
sorbing topic everywhere discussed; and even
Mt the Cnfe do Paris the waiter, who had yes
tertlay ministered to his wants with defcren.
tial alacrity, now served him mechanically,
without the faintest apparent recollection Of
ever having set eyes OH him before
This was the coup de grace, and the dsap-
pointed Baliveau was forced to acknowledge
thnt his brief span of notoriety was at an end.
Celebrity he muttercd, as weary and dis
pirited he returned to his hotel, sis pleasant
enough while it lasts, but it is over too soon.
And, all things taken into account, /" he added
rejecting how narrowly he had escaped be.
coming target for the terrible Roque's un-
erring aim, decidedly the game is not worth
| the candle Temple Bnr